Great Commission Priorities

1
Great Commission Priorities

• Where are the people who have not heard about
  Jesus?
• Where should we prioritize taking the Gospel?

2
Prioritization of the Great Commission (Overview)

• There is a great need to prioritize the Great
  Commission. Greater emphasis needs to be placed
  on bringing the awesome truth of Jesus to the
  least reached.
• 80 of missionaries are among evangelized
  (nominal) Christian people groups and a very
  large portion of Christian resources are in the
  U.S.
• There are many people who have heard little or
  nothing about Jesus and have almost nobody
  praying for them (by name) or who can tell them
  about Jesus.
• We need to prioritize these unreached people so
  we can obey our Master and complete the task He's
  given us all to do.
• We can pray more for those who have not heard the
  truth about Jesus and we can reallocate the
  resources at our disposal in order to more
  significantly impact the world for eternity.

3
Past Fruitful / Successful Missions

• Christian missions have been successful in many
  places like sub-Saharan Africa
• Just like a successful investment portfolio
  requires reallocation to strategically distribute
  resources (especially when do well in some areas
  and not in others), effective Great Commission
  outreach requires reallocation of resources.

4
Completing the Great Commission

• Jesus told us to make disciples of all ethne /
  ethnos (people groups)
• In order to do this, we Christian disciples must
  be engaged with all ethne
• At present, there are many peoples with little or
  no Gospel witness
• In order to fulfill Jesus last command, we must
  make it a high priority
• This requires that we send people and resources
  where they are currently sparse but in very great
  need

5
Where are the majority of gospel / Christian
resources?
6
If resources were distributed equally, they would
be distributed according to
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001. (WCT)
7
Actually
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001.
8
0.51 x proportional share
7.4 x proportional
share
0.017
0.0018
0.0083
0.049
1.3
Afghanistan 0.000072 x proportional share
lt 1.0 (Has less than countrys fair share per
person) 1.0 (Has countrys fair share per
person) gt 1.0 (Has more than countrys fair share
per person)
Data Source World Christian Trends, Barrett
Johnson
Ratios of Countries Portions of the Worlds
Christian (Personal or Church) Income on a per
Person Basis
Lowest Ratio (less than countrys portion)
Highest Ratio (more than countrys portion)
9
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001.
10
130,000
1,551,000
15,800
9,800
40,800
171,800
Afghanistan 30,400
Mozambique 1,400
Data Source World Christian Trends, Barrett
Johnson
Cost Effectiveness of World Missions Based on the
Cost to Lead to the Baptism of a New Convert
Most Effective
Least Effective
11
David Barrett on Good Missions Stewardship
Dollar for dollar and hour for hour, the harvest
coming from the 10/40 Window nations outstrips
that from the rest of the world 100 to 1,
Barrett says. That is, if the same money and
time spent to win one person to the Lord in the
West were put to use in the 10/40 Window nations,
the effort would yield a harvest of 100 souls
added to the kingdom of God. It is 100 times
more cost effective, therefore, to reach those in
the 10/40 Window. But for a sizable number of
ethnolinguistic groups, cost-effectiveness
reaches 1000 times more than in Western
countries.
World Christian Encyclopedia
12
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001.
13
1.6 x proportional share
0.034
6.0 x proportional
share
0.0097
0.090
0.022
0.33
0.29
0.97
Afghanistan 0.0035 x proportional share
lt 1.0 (Has less than countrys fair share per
person) 1.0 (Has countrys fair share per
person) gt 1.0 (Has more than countrys fair share
per person)
Data Source World Christian Trends, Barrett
Johnson
Ratios of Countries Portions of the Worlds
Christian Workers on a per Person Basis
Lowest Ratio (less than countrys portion)
Highest Ratio (more than countrys portion)
14
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001.
15
0.18 x proportional share
0.054
5.0 x proportional
share
0.0070
0.0078
0.056
0.21
0.33
0.52
Afghanistan 0.0035 x proportional share
Note Most of the red or orange nations are
islands
lt 1.0 (Has less than countrys fair share per
person) 1.0 (Has countrys fair share per
person) gt 1.0 (Has more than countrys fair share
per person)
Data Source World Christian Trends, Barrett
Johnson
Ratios of Countries Portions of the Worlds
Christian Periodicals on a per Person Basis
Fewest
Most
16
Source Barrett, David, and Todd Johnson. World
Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200. Pasadena, CA
William Carey Library, 2001.
17
268
0.034
2
368
16
lt1
lt1
13
29
562
Afghanistan 0.02
Data Source World Christian Trends, Barrett
Johnson
Number of Evangelistic Offers or Opportunities to
Become a Disciple per Capita per Year
Fewest
Most
18
Needed in the U.S.

• Clearly the U.S. has more than her share of
  Christian finances, resources, and ministers.
• Thus, the U.S. does NOT need more money to obey
  the Great Commission in this nation
• Obedient followers of Jesus with vision (from the
  Lord) are needed

19
The Great Need for More Emphasis on Reaching the
Unevangelized with the Gospel
20
It has always been my ambition to preach the
gospel where Christ was not known, so that I
would not be building on someone else's
foundation. Rather, as it is written Those
who were not told about him will see, and
those who have not heard will understand. Romans
1520, 21
And they sang a new song You are worthy to take
the scroll and to open its seals, because you
were slain, and with your blood you purchased men
for God from every tribe and language and people
and nation. Revelation 59
After this I looked and there before me was a
great multitude that no one could count, from
every nation, tribe, people and language,
standing before the throne and in front of the
Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were
holding palm branches in their hands. Revelation
79
21
From World Christian Trends AD 30 AD 2200 by
David Barrett and Todd Johnson

• Current Missionary distribution 2.4 (among)
  unevangelized, 24.5 evangelized non-Christians,
  73.1 Christians (pp. 40 55)
• 1990 AoG missionaries 2.0, 34.2, 63.8 (p.
  57)
• 1990 Pentecostal/Charismatic missionaries 1,
  25, 74 (p. 56)
• Foreign mission money p.a. 1.7, 11.7, 86.6
  (p. 55)
• Full-time workers 0.4, 23.7, 75.9 (p. 55)
• Tracts (leaflets) p.a. 0.2, 4.0, 95.8 (p.
  55)

• Only 8.7 of all Christian personnel, outreach,
  and evangelism ever gets through to the
  evangelized non-Christian world/peoples and only
  0.3 to the unevangelized (p. 81)
• 91 of all Christian outreach/evangelism does not
  target non-Christians but targets other
  Christians in (60) Christian countries, cities,
  peoples, populations, or situations (p. 3)
• It costs Christians 700 times more money to
  baptize converts in rich Christian countries
  (Switzerland) than in poor unevangelized
  countries (Nepal) (p. 3)

22
Windows International Network

• Only five pennies of every 100 given to
  missions goes to the 10/40 Window!
• That's 0.05!!!

23
Pioneers (Missions Organization)

• Worldwide, Christians earn 12.3 trillion a
  year.Of that 12.3 trillion, only 1.7 is given
  to Christian causes of any kind.Of this 1.7,
  only 5.4 goes to foreign missions.Of this 5.4,
  only 1 goes to people without any opportunity to
  hear about Jesus!
• Let's break this down  0.092 of all Christian
  earned income goes to missions.  0.054 of the
  money of Christian causes goes to unreached
  peoples. 0.00092 of all Christian earned income
  goes to people with little or no opportunity to
  hear about Jesus!
• Core Value Unreached PeoplesWe believe that our
  primary calling from God is to proclaim Christ
  among unreached peoples--those groups remaining
  in the world who have the least opportunity to
  hear and understand the life-giving message of
  the Gospel. There are still many hundreds of
  ethno-linguistic groups who do not have their own
  churches. Our passion is to bring the first spark
  of light to these dark places.

lthttp//www.pioneers.org/Portals/0/UltimateImpact.
pdfgt, page 5
lthttp//www.pioneers.org/Default.aspx?tabid39Pre
vTab1gt, Core Values Matter
24
Quote from Justin Long in the May-June 2006 issue
of Missions Frontiers

• "The majority of Christians in the world are
  still not aware of the challenge of the
  unreached, and many that are aware feel little or
  no responsibility.  . . . Of the US 15 billion
  given to missions, less than 2 is given for
  mission to the unreached, and less than 5 of the
  world's missionaries are focused on the
  unreached."  (Emphasis added.)
• "Will we change?  If current patterns continue,
  the unreached will still represent one-fourth of
  the world's population in 2025.  'Insanity,'wrote
  Albert Einstein, 'is doing the same thing over
  and over and expecting different results.'"
  (Emphasis added.)

lt http//www.missionfrontiers.org/2006/03/PDFs/08-
11_Ethne.pdf gt, page 9
25
Where Are Missionaries Needed the Most?

• Unreached people groups
• Least evangelized world or unevangelized world
  (World A)
• 10/40 Window

26
Where Are the People Who Have Not Heard About
Jesus?

• Most Christians can more easily locate countries
  rather than people groups
• Joshua Project and WCT missions information was
  used to prioritize the nations using ten criteria
• Data for 15,893 people groups and 222 countries
  were used to evaluate the status of Christianity
  in the nations
• The results have many possible applications about
  world evangelization efforts

lthttp//www.joshuaproject.net/download.php gt
27
Prioritization Weighting
Criteria (Percent Weighting) Description
Percent Least Reached (24) Percent of the country's population living in a least reached people group
Number Evangelism/Discipleship Opportunities (18) The (average) number of discipleship offers per person per year in the country
Joshua Project Progress (15) Progress of or response to the Gospel
Christian Workers per Million (14) Number of Christian workers per million population
Ministry Tools (8) Bible translation status, Jesus film, audio recordings, Christian radio broadcasting
Country Indices (8) Location indices (country persecution index, human development index, percent evangelical)
Population People Least Reached (6) Population living in a least reached people group
Number Least Reached People Groups (4) Number of least reached people groups in the country
Population (2) Population of the country
Cost / Convert (1) Average cost to lead to a baptism
28
Note Most of the purple nations are (small)
islands
Data Source Advocates for the Unreached
Great Commission Prioritization of Countries
Lowest Priority
Highest Priority
29
Country Great Commission Status / Prioritization
Scores
30
(No Transcript)
31
Need of USA vs. Other Countries
USA Afghanistan India China Indonesia
Priority 141 1 36 59 48
of Worlds Full-Time Christian Workers 27.8 (6.0 x pop.) 0.0013 (1/292 x pop.) 5.6 (1/3.0 x pop.) 1.9 (1/11 x pop.) 1.0 (1/3.5 x pop.)
of All Christian Personal or Church Income 34.1 (7.4 x pop.) 0.00002 (1/19,000 x pop.) 0.14 (1/120 x pop.) 0.36 (1/58 x pop.) 0.17 (1/21 x pop.)
of World Population 4.6 0.38 16.7 20.9 3.5
Note Of the 1,533,000 Christian workers in the
U.S., 1.28 million or 83.4 of these Christian
workers could perhaps be missionaries in another
country in order to achieve global equity
32
Need of USA vs. Other Countries (contd)
USA Afghanistan India China Indonesia
Discipleship Opportunities per Person per Year 368 Less than 1 13 16 29
Population Least Reached in the Country 0.3 99.9 89.8 15.1 66.4
Christian 76 0.03 2.3 7.3 8
Evangelical Christian 32.5 0.0 1.8 6.0 4.0
Average Cost / Convert 1,551,000 30,000 9,803 15,828 40,765
Sources Barrett and Johnson WCT, Joshua Project
33
Lausanne Covenant

• In 1974, it was more difficult to get many
  Christians, especially from different
  denominations, to agree upon some things. Yet,
  something remarkable happened after the Rev.
  Billy Graham and his evangelistic association
  helped initiate Lausanne I The International
  Congress on World Evangelization in Switzerland.
  In July of 1974, more than 2,300 evangelical
  leaders from 150 countries agreed upon the
  Lausanne Covenant to be more intentional about
  world evangelization.

The following paragraph is quoted from the
Lausanne Covenant of 1974 and would be an
excellent centerpiece or core value of any church
missions program or personal missions
involvement.
34
9. THE URGENCY OF THE EVANGELISTIC TASK

• "More than 2,700 million people, which is more
  than two-thirds of all humanity, have yet to be
  evangelised. We are ashamed that so many have
  been neglected it is a standing rebuke to us and
  to the whole Church. There is now, however, in
  many parts of the world an unprecedented
  receptivity to the Lord Jesus Christ. We are
  convinced that this is the time for churches and
  para-church agencies to pray earnestly for the
  salvation of the unreached and to launch new
  efforts to achieve world evangelization. A
  reduction of foreign missionaries and money in an
  evangelised country may sometimes be necessary to
  facilitate the national church's growth in
  self-reliance and to release resources for
  unevangelised areas. Missionaries should flow
  ever more freely from and to all six continents
  in a spirit of humble service. The goal should
  be, by all available means and at the earliest
  possible time, that every person will have the
  opportunity to hear, understand, and to receive
  the good news. We cannot hope to attain this goal
  without sacrifice. All of us are shocked by the
  poverty of millions and disturbed by the
  injustices which cause it. Those of us who live
  in affluent circumstances accept our duty to
  develop a simple life-style in order to
  contribute more generously to both relief and
  evangelism." (Emphasis added.)

lthttp//www.perspectives.org/about/lausanne.htmlgt
35
What Can We Do?

• 1 More prayer is needed for people in highly
  prioritized nations who have little or no
  opportunity to hear the truth about Jesus and
  very few Christians to pray for them
• New missionaries can be sent to least reached
  peoples
• Gospel tools can be used or translated to help
  reach high priority people
• Greater emphasis could be placed on international
  student ministry

36
Practical Ways to Make a Difference

• Churches and individuals can evaluate the
  missionaries / organizations they support and
  consider focusing more on high priority countries
• Churches could add more new missionaries /or
  establish goals to increase the percentage of
  their support in high priority nations
• 10/40 Window Bible school scholarships, radio,
  Bible translation, or scripture / gospel
  literature support could be earmarked for high
  priority countries (like with Gospel for Asia,
  the Bible League, or Every Home for Christ)
• Get involved with international student ministry

37
Conclusion

• There is a great need to prioritize reaching
  people who have little or no access to the Gospel
  
• Countries with many least reached peoples can be
  targeted with more focused prayer and new
  missionaries or gospel resources.